The present invention is generally directed to a kit for outfitting exterior surfaces of vehicles, boats or the like with a camouflage pattern to enhance hunting and/or military use of the vehicle. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a kit of pressure-sensitive, adhesive-backed vehicle cover panels that have camouflage color patterns imprinted thereon, with marginal strip portions that facilitate registration of the panels on a vehicle.
Various types of camouflaging techniques for hunting and/or military use of vehicles are well known in the art. The majority of these techniques include painting the vehicle with colors to create a desired camouflage color combination that preferably blends with the terrain at the site of hunting or military activity. These techniques typically necessitate application of paint directly to the vehicle surface, over a base primer or paint covering the vehicle. While alteration of the surface of a military vehicle may be acceptable because the military vehicle is used for no other purpose, re-painting of a civilian vehicle might be unacceptable for the occasional hunter who also uses his vehicle for activities other than hunting.
One type of camouflaging technique for vehicles is accomplished by mounting magnetic camouflage elements on the surface of the vehicle. This is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,938, issued Aug. 27, 1996. Although the magnetic mounting may hold to the underlying vehicle panel in dry and normal weather, it is questionable if such panels will remain attached to the vehicle in inclement weather or cold temperatures. Such a system requires a magnetic backing layer that ranges between 20 to 60 mils in thickness. Due to this thickness, the magnetic mountings may not effectively adhere to curved surfaces or to small areas of the vehicle that contain dents, rust or other surface imperfections. Additionally, the thickness of these appliques render them insufficiently pliant to follow the contours of the vehicle.
The present invention is directed to a kit of camouflage panels that overcomes the aforementioned deficiencies.